XMas Time With Section Nine
by Magnusrae
Summary: Realizing that most of Section Nine has no family, Aramaki institutes a gift exchange program. Light and fluffy oneshot. Mild BM


**X-mas Time with Section Nine**

**A/N: **Hello, this is my first foray into the GITS universe. It is set around the first season of Stand Alone Complex. Rated for one mild swear word. The mind to mind communication of Section Nine shall be depicted with the use of italics inside quotation marks: _"Thus"_. Btw, I am well aware that Japan doesn't celebrate Christmas like we do in the West; but it is 2030; anything could be going on. Like I said, it is a short, fluffy piece of work; but hey, tis the season.

**Disclaimer: **Ghost in the Shell, its characters and properties are owned by Shirow Masamune. Stand Alone Complex was created by Production I.G. and Bandai Entertainment has their fingers in there somewhere. I own nothing of the characters or properties, nor does writing this profit me in any way, shape or form.

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The continuous murmur of people's voices, the omnipresent Christmas music in the background, and the shouts and cries of children all merged together to form a cacophony of sound that was unique to the holiday season. Here in the mall the noise was punctuated by a dazzling display of lights; not just the small twinkling ones, but giant holographic displays that would pop out of store fronts to assault the eyes of those who passed by. Of course, in this day and age the shoppers had become accustom to such tactics and would ignore them, walking right through the ads in the pre-holiday bustle that drove consumers this time of year.

Still, it was easy for even the most experienced of shoppers to get distracted. Perhaps that's why the young thief decided the large pile of wrapped gifts sitting apparently unattended on a bench would make an easy target. Unfortunately, his judgment of the situation was dead wrong.

"I wouldn't if I were you," a baritone voice quietly asserted from the other side of the pile of gifts, just as the boy was preparing to make his move. His body gave an involuntary, guilty jerk as a large hand pushed one of the prettily wrapped presents to one side, revealing a pair of round cyborg eyes nestled in a face only a mother could love. The large man had been sprawled out on the bench beside the pile of gifts; he heaved a massive sigh as he regarded the young, would-be thief.

"Look, this is the first empty bench I've found in over two hours. If I have to get up to chase after you, someone else will come sit here and I'll be on my feet again." The big man's face brightened, "Oh, I know. I'll just shoot you in the legs. That way you won't get away and I won't have to get up. How does that sound to you?"

The boy had grown several shades more pale; he took a few steps away from the no longer tempting pile of gifts. "I… I wasn't doing nothing. You're crazy, man!" he blurted before retreating at a quick paced walk. He bumped into a man as he left, nearly causing him to drop his load of presents.

Togusa recovered from the bump, watched the kid's hasty retreat, and then turned to the still grinning man on the bench. "Batou," he said with a sigh, "what did you do to that kid?"

The large cyborg on the bench gave Togusa an injured look that the mostly human member of Section Nine didn't buy at all. The large man straightened from his slouched position and turned serious. "You should be grateful. I was saving your presents from a set of very sticky fingers."

Batou rubbed a hand on top of his ash-blond hair, ruefully eying the new packages Togusa was adding to the pile. "Aren't you done yet?"

"Well, almost. There are still some things I want to get for my son…" Togusa also eyed the pile. "We can head back to the car and ditch the gifts, if you want."

Batou, despite not having eyes or visible eye sockets, gave the youngest member of Section Nine the distinct impression that he was rolling his eyes at him. "And waste even more time? Hell, no. I think I can manage this." The big cyborg rose from the bench and began to gather Togusa's gifts into his arms, grumbling under his breath about 'family' men the entire time.

The smaller man wisely hid his smile as he helped arrange the packages in Batou's arms. The presence of his superior was due to the fact that Togusa had beaten him in a card game earlier in the week. Of course, Togusa had received some surreptitious help from his eagle-eyed, card shark teammate, Saito, but Batou didn't need to know that. At least, Togusa _hoped_ that Batou didn't know anything; it was sometimes hard to tell with the big man. He had to admit that despite the circumstances, Batou was being remarkably good natured about losing the bet and having to 'assist' Togusa in his Christmas shopping for the day.

He finished arranging the gifts. True to Batou's word, the weight of the wrapped packages themselves was no problem, but his ability to see while carrying them was possible only when the gifts were stacked right. As Togusa stood back to admire his work, Batou gave him a tolerant look.

"Well, then, come on; let's get this over with."

"Aw, come on, big guy; this isn't so bad. And remember, you still have to get a gift for the exchange. You got the Major this year, right? Good luck man."

Batou snorted.

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Major Motoko Kusanagi, field commander of Public Security Section Nine, felt the nano-servos in her prosthetic face pull her delicate eyebrows downwards into a frown. She fought with the emotions that were causing the dissatisfied look, and ended up plastering a false smile on just as her two friends returned to their table with three steaming hot cups of coffee.

Keiko, who worked as a nurse in a prominent local hospital, noticed instantly. "Motoko? What's wrong?"

The Major allowed her false smile to disappear. It wasn't in her nature to be untruthful to those few people she held in high regard; unless, of course, duty called for it. "This," she answered simply, waving a hand at the holiday hustle and bustle carrying on in the mall outside the little bistro. "Did you know that thirty years ago, Japan celebrated Christmas with some Kentucky Fried Chicken and a simple Christmas cake? All of this so-called 'tradition' was imported from the American Empire after the Third World War. The government encouraged it because all the spending boosts the revenue from sales taxes. They used the explanation that the increased consumerism would aid our struggling post-war economy, but since most of these goods are imported, the only economies aided are those of Korea and China." She gave a disgusted, unladylike snort. Motoko _hated _Christmas.

"Not again," Ritsuka proclaimed as she set down her cup of coffee. "Motoko, you do this every year. I thought this year you promised to try and _enjoy_ our day out."

"Yeah," Keiko chimed in. "You're always so busy. We hardly ever have time to get together anymore."

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry," the Major said, this time with a small, genuine smile.

"Besides," Keiko continued in a cheerful tone, "we can't leave until you get a gift for your office gift exchange, right?"

Kusanagi's smile faded. One of the aspects she dreaded about the holiday the most was Section Nine's gift exchange, mandated by Chief Daisuke Aramaki himself. The so-called logic behind the old man's decision was that, save for Togusa, none of Section Nine had a family to celebrate the holiday with. The exchanging of gifts with one another would also help promote deeper understanding of each other as individual people and unite them further as a team, or so Aramaki said. Thus far, the Major's protestations of this event had fallen on deaf ears.

"So," Ritsuka said with a playful smile, "shall we hit the liquor store next?"

Keiko giggled as Motoko took a resigned sip of her coffee. Her friends knew that every year she would purchase some sort of spirits for the exchange. It was only fair; every year that is exactly what she received as a gift. While the rest of Section Nine gave and received thoughtful tokens, their commander always got some sort of alcoholic beverage, usually something she didn't care to drink. The Major gave a mental snort. 'Promote a deeper understanding of each other as individuals', her ass. It was a colossal waste of time. Well, at least this year she had drawn Batou. She knew exactly what he liked to drink, so the choice would be easy.

"Yes, let's go there next." After all, the sooner this was over with, the better.

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"That."

"That? For the Major? You're joking, right?"

Batou, his arms still full of Togusa's presents, was grinning like a Cheshire cat. "It's _perfect_," he insisted. Returning his attention to the old proprietor of the small, cramped antique store, he asked for the chosen gift to be boxed up and wrapped.

Togusa watched in disbelief as the old man gleefully complied. "You know," he said hesitantly, "it's Christmas. Are you sure you want to be pulling a practical joke on the Major this time of year?"

"What joke? She'll love it."

Batou's ear to ear grin didn't shrink in the slightest as he juggled his burden around enough to enable a free hand to pay for his purchase. Togusa shrugged slightly. In his opinion, the big cyborg was going to end up doing paperwork for a month as a punishment for his choice of gifts. But what did he know?

"Hey Togusa, wake up and grab that; my hands are full."

"Oh, right. Sure thing boss." Togusa accepted the wrapped box; Batou's only purchase of the day, and followed the big man out of the store.

"Where to now?" Batou asked, his tolerance for shopping apparently buoyed by his discovery of the so-called 'perfect' gift.

"Back to the car, actually; I'm done. Thanks for all of your help today, big guy."

The large cyborg shrugged as they began to weave their way through the holiday crowd. "Yeah, well, I lost the bet. Fair is fair."

His younger companion sighed, feeling a little guilty about the whole thing. They rounded a corner; Togusa's thoughts preoccupied with how to admit to his helper for the day that he had been persuaded to cheat by Saito and Ishikawa in a way that would protect him from bodily harm in the process.

"Togusa," a recognizable voice came from in front of him. "If you keep walking with your head down like that, you're going to bump into someone."

Eyes widening, Togusa raised his head to regard the familiar countenance of one Major Motoko Kusanagi. He stammered a greeting and an apology all at once, instinctively jerking the gift he was holding behind his back as he did so. The sharp-eyed leader of Section Nine noticed this action immediately, as did Togusa's shopping companion.

"_Togusa, you idiot," _Batou's voice popped into his head via an encrypted cyber-com channel. _"It's not like she has X-ray vision. If you had just stood there she'd never have known that box was for her. Moron!"_

Hey Major, how's it going?" The casual voice Batou used to address his commander was a distinct contrast to the sharp tone he had just used to dress down Togusa. "On your way to the liquor store?" he teased with a smile.

Motoko eyed Batou, whose arms were absolutely overflowing with gifts, most wrapped in child-themed paper. "Batou, don't you know that it is in bad taste to buy gifts for yourself?"

"Actually, these gifts are mine. _All _of them," the youngest member of Section Nine asserted, trying to make up for his previous blunder.

The Major smiled at the flustered man; she had known that, of course. "Yes, I heard how you beat Batou in cards." She shook her head at the still grinning cyborg. "You must be losing your touch."

"_Batou might enjoy Christmas, Togusa, but when he finds out you cheated him at cards… you're going to be in for a world of trouble. Saito and Ishikawa too. I hope for your sake that whatever it is that you're up to is well worth it." _

Togusa flinched slightly as the Major's steely voice entered his brain. All the while, Kusanagi had maintained the casual give and take conversation she was having with Batou. Her two friends approached hesitantly, greetings were exchanged and then the two parties of Christmas shoppers headed off in their respective different directions. The Major was feeling a little better about the gift exchange. Clearly Togusa had drawn her name, but since Batou was along for the ride she'd at least get something that she enjoyed drinking for Christmas. Now for Batou's gift…

"The big one must have been a Ranger at some point, right?" Keiko mused. Upon hearing Motoko's confirmation, the petite nurse shuddered. "I can't stand prosthetic eyes like that. You can never tell what the person is thinking."

One delicate purplish eyebrow arched skyward; Motoko never had any problem with deciphering Batou's overly expressive face, even when he was being subdued. Of course, the large cyborg had been her teammate for several years now. Her feet slowed as they neared the mall's liquor store. Alcohol was the perfect gift. Every member of Section Nine indulged, and she knew exactly what everyone, especially Batou, liked to drink. It was perfect… perfectly impersonal and that was precisely what she wanted. After all, she was their commander and a unit like Section Nine shouldn't get too attached to one another. So why did buying such a gift for Batou feel so… wrong?

Her feet came to a complete stop outside the store; she stared at a holographic image of scantily clad women running about on a beach, followed by a 3-D logo of the sponsoring beverage. Batou liked to drink; there wasn't any harm in maintaining her tradition, right? Right?

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As far as office Christmas parties went, Section Nine's was a relatively subdued one. The members of the elite anti-terrorist unit were technically on-call all the time, and while the full cyborgs could drink all they wanted without any inebriating effects, they generally didn't out of respect for the more human members of the team. The highlight of the party thus far had been a video demonstration by Ishikawa. Section Nine's superhacker had hacked the mall's security cameras on the day of Togusa's shopping trip, superimposed a pink tutu onto Batou's image and had choreographed the big cyborg's journey through the crowded mall with the soundtrack of the Nutcracker Suite. The results were hilarious; even Motoko had to hide a laugh behind one hand. Batou had tolerated all this teasing good naturedly. In the Major's opinion, he looked only slightly more goofy in Ishikawa's video than he did now, with a floppy red Santa's hat on his head.

The large room they were celebrating in had been decorated with red and green streamers; someone had hung ample amounts of mistletoe from the ceiling, which the Major had gracefully avoided. A small pile of eight packages was stacked neatly in one corner. Chief Aramaki, upon instituting the gift exchange, had promptly dismissed himself from participating in it.

The time for distributing the gifts swiftly came. Batou volunteered to be "Santa" and handed out the gifts while grinning like a child. "Major", he said, while handing her the same wrapped box that Togusa had so clumsily tried to hide from her at the mall. She accepted it with a polite smile, watching as the other members of her team got their presents. The room was soon filled with the sounds of ripping paper and murmurs of surprise and thanks.

Motoko slipped her fingers into the seam of paper, easily separating the wrapping from her gift. The paper removed, she was presented with a box, about the size of a shoebox, an odd vessel for spirits. The lid of the box came off; she stared at the contents. A porcelain face of a doll stared back at her; the delicate antique visage was crisscrossed in a multitude of hairline cracks. Motoko blinked. The doll had to be a century old; from its fine golden hair to its dainty, lace-covered dress, everything about the doll screamed 'fragile'.

She slipped her prosthetic hand into the box, gently tracing the girl's china cheek with a finger. This gift wasn't from Togusa. It could only be from one person. Checking the wrapping, she found the tag. Her name was next to the 'To'; a smiley face was next to the 'From'. Her eyes quickly found Batou. He was seated on a couch, taking up twice as much room as he needed to, examining Togusa's gift of a book. Motoko looked back down at the antique doll. When she was a child, her prosthetic body had been clumsy and difficult to control. She had accidentally crushed her favorite doll in one hand and it had made her cry. This doll looked as if it would break if she so much as sneezed on it, and yet she knew that her current body could pick it up and handle it without a problem. She smiled at the sleeping doll. Trust Batou to remember something so silly. Closing the lid on the box, Motoko quietly slipped form the room.

Batou flipped through the book that Togusa had received from Pazu. It detailed the care of antique revolvers like the Matever he preferred to use.

"Hey, big guy, where's your gift?" Togusa suddenly questioned.

"Hm?" I guess I didn't get one."

"Well that isn't right. Who had your name?"

"_Don't make a big deal." _Batou warned him mentally while still flipping through the book.

Togusa blinked at the cyber-com rebuke. His detective mind quickly matched gift givers to gift receivers, deducing that the one who would have Batou's name could only be… "The Major?" He scanned the room, noting not only that she was absent, but that the gift wrap that had decorated her present was now sitting crumpled on the floor.

"_She's gone. I told you she wouldn't like that doll. Maybe you should go and apologize to her."_

Batou glanced at a nearby clock and grinned. "Yeah, I guess you were right," he said with a faint touch of sarcasm, as if he was laughing at a joke only he could understand.

Togusa watched as the big cyborg ambled out of the room. He just couldn't understand Batou sometimes. But what was even more curious was the fact that the Major didn't get him a gift. She had always participated in the exchange in years past, albeit reluctantly. Why would things be different this year?

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He found her on top of their headquarters, overlooking the constant stream of lights as traffic zipped by far below. A light breeze played with her amethyst hair; she didn't turn as he approached. He joined her at the edge of the building, a respectful distance away. It was dark. The city never slept, but it did quiet down some. The two cyborgs stood in companionable silence. Batou wisely held his tongue when he noted that the tough-as-nails Major's right hand gently held the fragile antique doll. Her left hand moved to an inside pocket of her jacket. "Here," she said, handing him two small slips of paper.

Batou accepted them, his face breaking out in a wide smile. "Hey, these are tickets to the Laurel and Hardy film festival that is going on next month! But… they sold out the first day they went on sale. I couldn't even find any on-line. How did you get some?"

Motoko's only answer was a vague smile and the faint rise and fall of one shoulder. "Merry Christmas, Batou."

Her partner cocked his head to one side; the wind caught and blew his ash-blond ponytail around from behind him. "Say," he said hesitantly, "there's two tickets here…"

Motoko sighed as he fell silent; the offer left hanging in the air. She looked down at the doll in her hand. The object itself was pointless; it was the thought behind it that made it special, meaningful. Going with Batou to his film festival would be all it would take to make her gift just as important to him. But it would also be… dishonest, in a way. She had drawn that line between them long ago and although she knew that he longed to cross it, it would be unkind to give him any false hope. Batou deserved better than that.

Typical of her closest friend, Batou correctly interpreted her silence as a rejection and shrugged it off a casually as he always did. "Well, I suppose you're busy that night. Thanks for the tickets, though. Hey Major, what time is it?"

Puzzled at the change in the conversations direction, Kusanagi glanced down at her omnipresent watch. "Almost nine o'clock. Why?"

"Perfect timing if we leave now. Let's get back to the party."

He would say no more on the subject, although the Major could detect some high speed cyber communication taking place on the … Tachikoma channel? Bemused, she followed him to one of the high speed lifts that would take them back to the floor with the party. As soon as they got close to the room, she could hear the child-like voices of the robotic Tachikomas as well as baritone exclamations of protest.

"Batou," she gave the big man a suspicious look.

"What?" he replied innocently, although that so-called guiltless tone was marred by his Cheshire cat smile.

"Oh, hi Mr. Batou," one of the blue spider-like robots greeted as they approached the party room. "We did exactly as you said."

"Batou," Major Kusanagi spoke with authority. "What, exactly, is going on here?"

"Check it out and see for yourself." Batou bowed to her, holding out one hand in the direction of the room. "Ladies first."

The Major could feel a headache coming on. She entered the room to see three Tachikomas holding Togusa, Saito, and Ishikawa hostage in their claw-like 'hands'. Pazu and Bulma were free and standing to one side as the three captives protested their current situation loudly.

"What's going on here? What do you Tachikomas think you are doing?"

"We're only doing what Mr. Batou said," squeaked one.

"That's right; he said it was a tradition for those sitting under the mistletoe," peeped up another.

"But he said that Pazu and Bulma don't celebrate in this way, so they could be excused," the third claimed.

"_Batou, the Tachikomas are _not_ your personal playthings."_

"_I know, I know. You can punish me later. For now, enjoy the show."_

"What show," she queried aloud.

"Are you ready, Tach?" Batou asked the fourth Tachikoma, which happened to be the one he always used on missions.

"We sure are!" the A.I. robot enthused. "A-one, a-two, a-three." All four mini tanks started to sing, their high pitched voice recorders squeaking out the words as they swayed back and forth in time to the music.

"Christmas, Christmas, time is here. Time for joy and time for cheer…"

Pazu and Bulma beat a quick retreat to the door of the room, joining the grinning Batou and the aghast Major.

"What _is_ that?" she asked as one of the Tachikomas squealed out, "Me, I want a hula-hoop."

"Alvin and the Chipmunks' Christmas soundtrack. They're going to sing the whole thing… twice!"

"This is cruel and unusual punishment," Togusa protested.

"Major, would you do something about this?" Ishikawa pleaded. "After all, it _is_ Christmas."

Saito just suffered in silence.

Major Motoko Kusanagi looked at her three desperate teammates. She shook her head. She would have to punish Batou for misuse of company property but for now… "Sorry boys, but I'm off duty. And I don't really recognize Christmas as a holiday." She turned to Batou.

"Care for a drink?" he asked.

"Why not. But take that stupid hat off first."

Grinning, Batou complied, placing the red Santa hat on top of 'his' Tachikoma as they left the room. He gave a backwards wave to his three struggling comrades.

"Merry Christmas, guys," he exclaimed.

_**Fin**_


End file.
